My husband Can Cultivate

Chapter 408: 408

"Who does he think he is, daring to ask me for one hundred million!" He Honglang grumbled after Yang Qi left.

Du Xin frowned. "What are you talking about? Mr. Yang showed us great kindness! Without him, we wouldn't even have jobs right now! You're getting completely full of yourself!"

Jiang Yue added, "Exactly! Don't let a little success go to your head!"

He Honglang sneered, "Yes, he helped me, that's true. But the achievements I've made are because of my own abilities and knowledge. He contributed, sure, and I was planning on paying him. But you heard the man—he asked for a hundred million!"

"You're hopeless! Can't you see Mr. Yang was angry? Go on, keep digging your own grave!" Du Xin shook his head, glanced at Jiang Yue, and said, "Let's get back to work."

"Right." The two turned and walked away.

Though they are all human, the gap between people can be vast. Some, even after achieving great success, never forget old friends and benefactors. But others, the moment they strike it rich, desperately try to sever all ties with their past.

He Honglang was just such a person. He had just achieved a modicum of success, receiving a five million dollar bonus from the company, and it went straight to his head. He immediately divorced his wife. According to him, this was just "cutting his losses," because his wife wasn't as brilliant or as beautiful as he was. He had forgotten that when he was at his lowest, that same woman had stood by him, never leaving his side.

Furthermore, he acted as if he was above everyone at the company, even looking down on Cao Zhendong. He respected no one and was unbelievably arrogant. He even began to lose interest in his official work, instead taking on side jobs. Now that he was well-known, some companies would secretly pay him to use the Qifei Group's hardware for their own research, and he actually agreed to it.

Cao Zhendong had warned He Honglang many times, hoping he would change his ways, but the man showed no intention of doing so.

Yang Qi found Cao Zhendong to ask about the situation.

"That He Honglang fellow? Just fire him. Keeping someone like that around is a constant liability." Yang Qi didn't care about He Honglang's disrespect toward him, but what he couldn't tolerate was the man using the Qifei Group's equipment for side jobs.

"We can't fire him yet!" Cao Zhendong shook his head. "Our current research is about to bear fruit, and he knows a great deal about it. If we fire him now, there's no guarantee he won't leak our secrets. Let's wait until the project is finished."

"What about the others?" Yang Qi asked.

"The others are quite good, especially Du Xin and Jiang Yue. Those two are genuinely hardworking and down-to-earth. Bai Shanshan and Han Xinhong are also decent, but they aren't very assertive. I'm afraid that bastard He Honglang might lead them astray," Cao Zhendong said.

"That is a problem," Yang Qi mused. "Why don't you have a heart-to-heart with He Honglang first? Tell him that if he fixes his attitude, his bonuses will increase in the future. Moreover, he can achieve even greater success at our company. Let's stick to the principle of trying to cure the disease before giving up on the patient. If that doesn't work, then our hands are tied."

"Alright," Cao Zhendong nodded.

「The next day, people from the Hanfang Association came again.」

The one in the lead was still Chen Mo. Several of the key researchers were also present, including Cao Zhendong, He Honglang, Jiang Yue, and Du Xin.

He Honglang was thrilled. Although he had made good money at the Qifei Group, he always felt he was destined for a bigger stage, like the Hanfang Association. He also wanted to go abroad—to Kappa Country, or even Eagle Country. He believed his talents would flourish if he left the country. Thus, when the proposal for a research exchange was written into the contract, He Honglang felt his opportunity had finally arrived. Once he went to the Hanfang Association, he had no plans of coming back.

"Mr. Ye, Ms. Li, I see no other issues. Let's sign the contract. Here's to our happy cooperation!" Chen Mo said with a disingenuous smile. People from Kappa Country were said to be hypocritical, and it seemed Chen Mo had been infected.

Ye Fei shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Chen. After a discussion with our senior management, we've decided we cannot sign this contract."

"Why?!"

Many people were stunned, especially He Honglang. He had been counting on this contract to get into the Hanfang Association. What was this? It was as if his path forward had just been severed. This was absolutely unacceptable. He truly didn't understand. Just yesterday, everything had been agreed upon. The terms offered by the Hanfang Association were extremely generous. If the Qifei Group wasn't stupid, they should have accepted.

Before Chen Mo could even say anything, He Honglang burst out, "No! Mr. Ye, how could you do this? Yesterday you agreed we were signing! Why the sudden refusal? There's such a huge gap between our Qifei Group and the Hanfang Association! The fact that they're willing to work with us is a sign they respect us! How can you refuse?!"

Cao Zhendong said coldly, "He Honglang, you're out of line! If Mr. Ye says we're not signing, then we're not signing. Just focus on your research. Why are you interfering?"

"I…" He Honglang gritted his teeth. He was only now realizing that he was just a researcher, not a member of senior management. He had no authority to overturn a decision made by the higher-ups. For now, he didn't dare offend people like Cao Zhendong, who were, after all, his bread and butter. Of course, if he had a safety net, things might be different.

"Just sit down. The leadership is already showing us great respect by allowing us to observe. Stop talking out of turn," Du Xin muttered. Both he and Jiang Yue shook their heads. He Honglang was becoming more and more outrageous. Did he really think the Qifei Group couldn't function without him?

Damn it all, He Honglang wanted to curse out loud, but he managed to restrain himself.

Chen Mo smiled at Ye Fei. "Mr. Ye, surely there's a reason for not cooperating with our Hanfang Association. We just settled this yesterday. You can't just go back on your word."

"Exactly!" He Honglang couldn't hold it in any longer. "Mr. Ye, do you realize how untrustworthy this makes you look? You may be the company chairman, but you're not the boss! Did you do this with the boss's approval? Have you considered how we researchers feel? We want to go to the Hanfang Association!"

"Get out!" Ye Fei suddenly slammed the table and roared. "He Honglang, the company originally planned to groom you all into key members, which is why you were allowed to sit in on this meeting.

"But when you sit in, you have no speaking rights, do you understand? You question my integrity? Let me ask you, do I have any written agreement with the Hanfang Association?

"Furthermore, I said yesterday that I needed to discuss it with the boss. This is the boss's decision, and we must obey it unconditionally. Don't you forget that the Qifei Group is a private company.

"It belongs to the boss alone. Whatever the boss says, goes. If you're not satisfied, go write your resignation letter. Don't stand here spouting nonsense!"

He Honglang was terrified. He had never seen Ye Fei so angry. In the company, Ye Fei was usually quite gentle. Li Qingyan, on the other hand, was the stricter one.